


Flowers and Leather Jackets

by littlelottie_x



Series: Nct Au's [11]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: But only a bit, Drug Dealing, M/M, Manipulation, gotta get that dollar dollar somehow, markhyuckmin is thriving the best rarepair trio, nono is a babie boy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-10-29 22:42:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20804171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlelottie_x/pseuds/littlelottie_x
Summary: Jeno lives with a ragtag bunch of misfits desperately trying to make a living on the streets. After meeting Renjun, an alluringly handsome stranger, he finds himself suddenly lying and betraying the group of boys that have always treated him like a brother.





	1. Lost and Found

Jeno had always been more innocent than the others. More caring, more emotional, more inherently good, but although he was different to everyone else his friends never minded. It actually meant that they cared about him even more - it was their self-proclaimed mission to protect their adorable friend. Being orphaned alongside the neighbourhood troublemakers had its upsides and downsides but Jeno’s known most of them ever since he was a tiny nine year old fending for himself on the streets, and he wouldn’t trade them for the world. 

And then there’s Renjun. Mysterious, alluring, dangerous Renjun. Jeno could confidently, without a doubt, say that he loved him. He loved them all dearly in their own way, but for Jeno, Renjun was different. They met three summers ago when they were fifteen in the scorching heat of a June afternoon. Jeno was trailing behind Jaemin with one hand holding onto the younger’s backpack strap and the other gently grasping Donghyuck’s palm as they made their way to an ice cream parlour to escape from the stifling summer temperature. 

Jeno had a tendency to get distracted by things. Often little mundane things, but they would fascinate his young curious mind and it led to him stopping to stare and losing his friends and his directions more times than the small group would like to count. Jeno’s forgetfulness was the reason that the two were making sure he was holding onto them somewhere as they made their way through the park.

It was here that Jeno got distracted by two beautiful things. The first was a butterfly balancing delicately atop the petals of a rose. Jeno loved roses. The pink ones reminded him of Jaemin’s soft side and the thorns reminded him of Donghyuck’s sharp words, and the strong stems reminded him of Mark’s dependability. He treasured his friends, they took care of him when no one else would. The butterfly, he supposed, was him. A fragile soul leaning on the others for support as they held him strongly up high so that he could never fall back into the life they rescued him from.

The second beautiful thing he noticed was the boy. Looking up from the rose, he saw that the boy was short yet somehow still imposing, and his calm demeanour captivated him. The way he was standing and gazing into the pond as if contemplating life’s unanswered questions instead of the fish exuded confidence and mystery and everything Jeno hoped he could one day be.

Then he realised he had become separated from the others. Admiring the rose had caused him to lose his grip on Jaemin’s backpack, and he had been holding Donghyuck’s hand so lightly it must have slipped out of his grip. Jeno didn’t know his way around this part of the city at all and he quickly began to feel overwhelmed, the familiar vice-like feeling of panic wrapping around him.

All too suddenly he felt the tightness in his throat, and then came the trembling hands and as he vaguely registered the fact that he was falling he thought, It’s happening again, please make it stop, I’ll do anything, please!

And then he was pulled from his thoughts like a drowning boy from water, from the depths of his mind that threatened to drag him down, and he found himself staring into the eyes of the stranger as he held onto one of Jeno’s trembling hands. The beautiful stranger that he had seen a few moments before. Jeno, curious as he was even after experiencing such strong emotion, just had to know his name. So he took a deep breath, like Mark had taught him, and then opened his mouth to remark, “You’re so pretty! What’s your name?”

At that, the stranger quirked an eyebrow. He even has pretty eyebrows, Jeno’s brain helpfully supplied. The small boy stood up to offer him a hand. “You were crying?” he asked with a slight accent and a blunt tone. He was straight to the point but there was an underlying note of concern within it. Jeno felt indescribably happy about the fact that this boy was worried about him even though he could tell that it was not something that he was used to feeling for others. The stranger seemed unsure of how to approach the distressed boy and started moving slowly away as if trying to avoid spooking a skittish animal.

“I heard you saying something, you were asking someone to stop? What did that mean? There was nobody around except me” the pretty boy continued. Somewhere between formulating a response and gazing at the different tones of brown in the boy’s dyed hair, Jeno got lost. Eyes hazy and mind still a little clouded, he felt dizzy and repositioned a hand on the ground to help prop himself up.

“I- I’m okay now I think” Jeno said with his signature eyesmile. The one that got Jaemin to squish his cheeks and Mark to allow him another cookie from the jar and Donghyuck to hold him close and whisper how much he loved him. His friends cared about him the most. And maybe...maybe now he could add this boy to the small list of people that gave a damn about his existence.

“That doesn’t really answer my question, but I’m glad. Are you here by yourself?” the stranger asked. Jeno realised he still didn’t know the boy’s name, or where the others had gone. Mark had said the next job for the group was to buy him a phone, but those were expensive and even with all the minor thefts and illicit dealings that he knew his three friends committed, they hadn’t managed to save up enough for one.

Jeno insisted that he would be fine with a simple flip phone but the others had pressed gentle fingers to his lips and ran soft hands through his hair and assured him that they would get him a good one no matter the cost. 

“You deserve something as simple as a decent phone, Jen”, Mark had said affectionately as he ran some numbers through a calculator. Probably totalling up the results of the theft at the mall the night before. Pickpocketing made them easy money, and although Jeno wasn’t sure he was comfortable with the way Mark and his other friends made it, it wasn’t easy being fifteen and living without any adults. Except maybe Johnny, when he came home to check on Mark, but they were cousins, and it sort of didn’t count.

Feeling the tears threaten to fall again as he realised he couldn’t contact anyone, he let out a soft whimper and looked up at the boy to see a flash of alarm pass across his features. Jeno simply reached forwards to tug on the leg of the stranger’s black ripped jeans to get him to sit down on the ground with him, and then leaned his head on his shoulder. The boy flinched in surprise, but slowly, if a little awkwardly, placed a careful arm around Jeno and began to draw comforting circles on his back.

It calmed Jeno almost immediately, and he decided that this boy was his angel, leather jacket, ripped jeans, piercings and all. As he began to fall asleep on the boy, he missed the smirk that grew wider on the boys face, the way his fingers tightened around his waist, and the possessive glint in his eye that disappeared as fast as it came.

That was how Jaemin and Donghyuck had found them, sat together on the ground with Jeno tucked comfortably under the arm of an intimidating-looking boy who was looking at the sleeping teen with equal confusion and awe, almost as if he couldn't quite fathom how someone could be so trusting as to fall asleep on a stranger. 

Jeno woke to the sound of angry but quiet whispering. Evidently his friends were considerate enough to attempt not to wake him but clearly they were upset. He hoped they weren't mad at him. He didn't mean to get lost, it was an accident and now he's scared and-

A soft hand patted his head gently and ran long fingers through his hair. Jeno knew it was Jaemin, whose soft side only came out for him, and sometimes Donghyuck and Mark. It calmed him a little and the small sniffles stopped, as did the heated conversation Hyuck and the stranger were still having. They all turned to look at him since everyone had now realised he was awake. 

Jeno looked up at his two friends and tried to ease their concern with a small eyesmile, then gestured towards the stranger and said “He helped me. I’m not hurt I promise, I got distracted by a butterfly and panicked when I couldn’t see you. He calmed me down” he explains with a gentle tone. 

Jeno still didn't have the stranger’s name, and thinking that this would be the only chance he would have to be it he attempted to ask a final time “Since you helped me I’d like to thank you properly. What’s your name?”

The boy’s eyes flashed with something Jeno couldn’t quite place but he thought it looked a lot like fear, before it was quickly replaced with a cool indifference. “You really want to know?”

Jeno nodded eagerly. 

“I'm Renjun. I'm fifteen and I live close by. I'm new around here so you won't know me. I'm glad I could help. I'll be going now,” he said stiffly. 

But before he could turn away to leave, Hyuck grabbed the sleeve of his leather jacket and hissed “I knew I recognised you. You're the one that interrupted my friend and I during a deal last week down that alley near the river!”

Renjun rolled his eyes and sighed, and his voice was dripping with disdain as he said “I don't know what you mean, and you shouldn't shout about your illegal activities in such a public place”.

Jaemin then stood, softly tugging Jeno to his feet alongside him. “I'd like it if you could come back with us? I'm sure our other friend would like to ask you a few questions” Jaemin said with a bright smile. It was so clearly fake and Jeno hated it, he only liked his friends to smile genuinely, the way they always did for him. 

“He's coming home? I'd like that” Jeno spoke quietly, pulling on the long sleeve of his hoodie and shyly scuffing his shoe around on the floor. 

“Well I guess my afternoon plans have been decided” Renjun said flatly, and proceeded to follow them back to the tiny apartment. Jeno didn’t leave his side the entire night, and Renjun looked resigned to the fact that the sweet boy wouldn’t let him disappear from his life so easily.


	2. "We Know"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renjun's been acting strange, Mark can't cook, and Jeno is adorably oblivious.

Three years have passed since their first encounter with Renjun. Mark, Donghyuck and Jaemin seemed to dote on Jeno even more now than they did back then.

Renjun was gracious enough to put up with being somewhat on the sidelines of their close friendship, and although Jaemin still didn’t trust Renjun and Hyuck was suspicious of the Chinese boy they allowed him to stick around because they knew how devastated Jeno would be if they told him to stay away.

Jeno’s happiness came first for them all. He had been through worse than any of the other boys and was still somehow their little ball of sunshine who needed protecting from the world that tried again and again to ruin him.

Jeno was lying in the long grass by the riverside with Hyuck while they waited for Jaemin and Renjun to return from a routine burglary. Nothing fancy, just enough to get them by as always and definitely not a high risk plan. The only problem was that sending the two stubborn boys out together was likely to end in one of them committing a homicide.

They had arranged to meet at 6pm and as they waited, Hyuck kept opening his mouth like he wanted to ask a question then closing it when he decided against it. Jeno had noticed and raised a shy sweater sleeve-covered hand to Hyuck’s cheek and smiled, as if asking him to go ahead and say it.

“Jenjen sweetheart, we know that you like Renjun” Hyuck blurted out. Jeno simply cocked his head to the side in confusion because yes, he did like Renjun, but he wasn't sure it was in the same way as Hyuck was implying. “He’s very important to me, I would be sad if he left” the older boy said simply.

“Maybe you don’t realise it but the rest of us can see that you like him in a different way than you like us” Hyuck explained while he allowed Jeno to rest his head on his lap. The older boy was turning his friend’s words round over in his head, thinking about his interactions with Renjun lately.

It was true that he had been more affectionate with him recently, and it was curious that Renjun had been allowing it since usually he was the first person to pull away from Jeno’s clingy koala hugs. Jeno also made sure than Renjun was alright first when the others returned from jobs.

Just as he formed the thought, Jaemin and Renjun came into sight. Hyuck gently lifted Jeno’s head up from his lap and instead placed it to rest on his shoulder and curled an arm round Jeno’s waist.

“Good to see you two didn’t murder each other” Hyuck called to them jokingly.

They saw Jaemin’s face darken at the comment and watched as one of his fists tightly curled up before he replied, “It was a damn close call, he never listens to me and it’s infuriating!”

Jeno extracted himself from Hyuck’s embrace and stood up to meet Jaemin and Renjun as they got closer. He immediately ran at Renjun and began to check him over for any cuts or scrapes, while Renjun patted his back and whispered that he was okay and not to worry. Preoccupied with giving Renjun attention, Jeno didn’t notice the worried look that Jaemin and Hyuck shared as the Chinese boy’s grip around Jeno’s waist tightened almost imperceptibly.

Moving away from the hugging couple, Jaemin updated Hyuck on how the burglary had gone, and slightly unzipped his backpack to show him the contents. They’d managed to hit a store just after closing time and raid the cash register which luckily hadn’t been emptied.

There was enough in the bag to last them the next week or so, which was lucky since they would have to lie low for a little while to avoid raising suspicion about their group. An elated giggle distracted them from their conversation and the two boys looked behind them to see Jeno wrapped tightly in Renjun’s arms while the older whispered things in his ear, to which Jeno kept replying “Yes, Injunnie”, and being rewarded with a hair ruffle each time he did so.

Renjun saw them looking and shot them a satisfied smirk. He enjoyed seeing Hyuck’s concerned expression and Jaemin’s evident attempt to conceal his building anger. Jeno, somehow sensing the tension building between the others, tilted his head adorably and announced that he wanted to see Mark.

Their eyes all widened as they collectively realised that Mark had been left alone near a mealtime. None of them wanted to see what he’d managed to do to the kitchen since he was a notoriously bad cook. The scrambled egg incident was never to be spoken of again.

Jaemin visibly winced when Hyuck delightedly recounted the time he and Mark managed to burn every single ingredient when they were trusted to cook once. It had taken the youngest hours to clean up after kicking the chaotic duo out because he didn’t trust them to tidy up properly.

“I can’t believe you two did that. I don’t even know how you guys managed to mess up that badly” Jaemin says exasperatedly. “But it was funny, Nana” Jeno said with a small smile. Jaemin couldn’t help but smile back, Jeno’s eyesmile was contagious.

“Maybe funny for you, Nono, but you weren’t the one cleaning it up, were you?” Jaemin teases Jeno lightly, tickling his side as they walk up the street to the run-down house the small group occupied. As they rounded the final corner they take a tentative glance at the house. “No immediate signs of smoke… maybe Mark’s managed to cook something properly for once” Renjun says dryly, not an ounce of sincerity in his voice as he rolls his eyes.

The disbelieving expressions of the others were proven to be justified when they entered the kitchen to find their oldest surrounded by pots and pans, completely covered in sauce from head to toe.

“It’s not what it looks like…?” Mark tries to explain himself but Jaemin simply sighs and nudges him towards the bathroom to clean up before taking over the disaster left behind. Meanwhile, Renjun leads Jeno over to the small family room and sets him down on the couch to cuddle him since the younger was asking him the whole way home.

“Happy now Nono? I don’t do this for just anyone you know.” Renjun says quietly. Jen hums in acknowledgement enjoying the feeling of Renjun’s slim fingers running through his hair. It’s relaxing in a way that almost sends him drifting off to sleep and he shits around in the older’s hold until his head is resting on his lap and he’s curled up like a kitten.

Donghyuck sends him a curious look but Renjun combats it with a possessive glare that makes the other boy suspicious, but Jeno looks so peaceful he’s reluctant to wake him by starting an argument. Renjun’s behaviour is strange but it’s nothing he’s prepared to make an issue out of so he lets it go, simply observing while Renjun traces patterns along Jeno’s arms as he sleeps.

Later in the evening once they’ve all eaten the remainder of the meal Jaemin managed to rescue and they carried a sleepy Jeno up to his room, Jaemin and Hyuck find themselves discussing the odd moments they’ve observed between the fiery Chinese boy and the group’s sweetheart.

“Haven’t you seen the way Renjun always has a hand on him? I tried to hug Nono earlier when he dropped his plushie down the stairs and I thought Renjunnie wanted to set me on fire with the glare he gave me” Jaemin says worriedly, a frown twisting his pretty features.

Hyuck nods in agreement and adds, “He’s done that to me too. Countless times actually… but he’s never been this possessive before, unless we’re only just noticing it now. Where is he, by the way? It’s weirdly quiet when Nono’s asleep and Mark’s out” he says observantly and Jaemin looks around the small room.

“You don’t think he’s in Jenjen’s room, do you?” Jaemin suggests and Hyuck’s eyes narrow as he gets up out of the chair and tugs the youngest gently down the hallway to the bedrooms. Sure enough the door to Jeno’s room is slightly cracked open as always and they can see the boy curled up around Renjun as if he’s afraid to let him go.

Renjun is awake if the muted glow from his phone is anything to go by, and his voice is full of malice as he whispers “If you’re here to spy on us I suggest you get another hobby. Did nobody teach you that it’s rude?”

Jaemin flinches back but Hyuck keeps a steady gentle hand in his and replies coolly, “Somebody’s defensive. We just wanted to check you were both here since it was getting pretty quiet” Hyuck explains but they hear Renjun snicker and say, “You’re such a bad liar. I know you think I’m doing something to your precious little sunflower but I promise you it’s nothing as exciting. I just care about him more than I care about you three. It’s simple really” he says, tone dripping with boredom.

Hyuck feels anger bubbling up inside him but Jaemin’s nervous insistent tugging on his hand convinces him to leave and drop it again. He can’t help but feel something isn’t quite right but with nothing but a gut feeling to prove it with, he has no ground to stand on.

“I’m sorry I made you stay, Nana. I know you hate dark bedrooms, I’m sorry” he apologises to the youngest once they’re back in the safety of the family room. Jaemin smiles weakly and shakes his head. “It’s alright, I can handle it if it’s for Nono… besides, can’t let the past ruin the present, right?” he says wisely and Hyuck is struck by how mature he’s become.

“That’s true, but don’t push yourself okay? Nono wouldn’t want you to relive those memories just for the sake of arguing with Renjun over him” Hyuck tells him as he wraps the younger in a comforting hug.

That’s how Mark finds them a while later, curled up asleep on the couch with the TV playing quietly to himself. He sighs fondly and places the shopping bags down on the kitchen table, clearly not containing a receipt for the contents, and places a large blanket over the two.

“Honestly, it’s like you’re all children still” he says fondly before making his way upstairs to sleep. He pokes his head into Jeno’s room on the way past and pauses when he sees the way he’s curled around Renjun, but the soft expression on the younger’s face as he sleeps is adorable and Mark feels a small smile grow as he closes the door gently and leaves them be.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading the first chapter of this mess that's been in my drafts for god knows how long. 
> 
> Baby boy Jeno is now my religion, if you disagree keep it out the comments please, there's no room for negativity here. Aside from that, I really hope you anticipate the next chapter, I promise there's more already written! 
> 
> If you have any questions or thoughts so far I'd love to hear them, feedback fuels my creativity :)
> 
> Love, Lottie x


End file.
